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Is Benzoyl Peroxide Really Safe?

Posted on Sep 19, 2017 by Paul WebDev

Benzoyl Peroxide: Safe Or Not Exactly ?

Acne is oneof the most common skin concerns, affecting more than 17 million people in theUS only. When it comes to treating it though, the skin caremarket, basically, offers 2 solutions (or at least these are the most popular ones) – salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide. Whileboth have proven to be effective in the treatment ofacne vulgaris, benzoyl peroxide’s safety is still questionable. Let’s see why..

What Is Benzoyl Peroxide?

Benzoylperoxide is a topical antibacterial agent that controls the growth ofacne-causing bacteria and at the same time causes the skin to peel, reducingthe risk of formation of scars and appearance of dark spots. Though it’s provento indeed suppress outbreaks and keep acne at bay, the use of products containingbenzoyl peroxide has its downsides.

The Side Effects Of Using BenzoylPeroxide

The mostcommon safety concern when it comes to benzoyl peroxide is that even lowconcentrations can cause redness, itchiness and irritations. And this doesn’tapply only for individuals with hypersensitive skin. The chemical itself is pretty aggressive and not all skin types can tolerate it.

Another factworth mentioning, is that regular use of benzoyl peroxide, especially in high concentrations, causes oxidative stress to the skin, resulting in sun-burn like red spots, flakiness and dryness. Just like any other peroxide, benzoyl peroxide is a freeradical-generating component.And what do we know about free-radicals?They damagethe cells, slow down the natural healing processes, break down collagen (makingyour skin less firm and elastic) and cause wrinkles and hyperpigmentation. Dowe want any of these? Nope.If the priceof getting rid of acne is premature aging, I am not willing to pay it. Plus, Iknow there are better and safer ways to help your skin heal!

La Mav Purify & Clean Range is designed to prep, cleanse and exfoliate combination,oily or normal skin types, prone to acne. It effectively detoxifies & purifies without stripping your skin of the sebum it naturally produces. Our Purify & Clean range is formulated with potent bio-active ingredients to achieve balance in blemish-prone skin without the harshness of strong chemicals, leaving it fresh, clean and without excessive dryness.

While it istrue that benzoyl peroxide aids in the prevention of scarring and appearance ofmarks/spots, by destroying the upper epidermal layer, it also makes the skin moresusceptible to infections and sun damage, hence more likely to become victim ofthe monster we all fear –photo-aging.Apart from that, even though benzoyl peroxide controls outbreaks, hence reducesthe risk of getting spots, the ones that you have from already healed blemisheswill stay on your face much longer than they would normally do, because of thefact that benzoyl peroxide suppressed skin’s own regenerating abilities.

Is Benzoyl Peroxide Cancerogenic?

In 1995, after thepublication of several studies, investigatingthe cancerogenic effect of benzoyl peroxide on skin cells, the FDAchanged the compound’s “status” from Category I (safe) to a Category III (safety isuncertain). After reading most of these articles I got to the realization that none of them actually claimed benzoyl peroxide was carcinogenic by itself. All studies were investigating the tumor promoting tendency of benzoyl peroxide on already cancerous tissues i.e tissues wherecancer has been initially caused by certain chemicals. Nevertheless, knowing that it affects the cells in such way makes me doubt its safety (despite all that I’ve read). And If I have to choose whether to takethe risk of putting it on my skin, without being 100% sure it’s not going to do any harm, I’dprefer to stay away from it.

At the present moment FDA classifies benzoyl peroxide as GRAS (generallyrecognized as safe). Is it going to keep its “safe status “in the next 3-5 years? We’ll see…

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